


Advice from a Caterpillar

by TheQueen



Series: Chasing the Rabbit [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Family Drama, Feelings, Feelings Realization, Fluff and Angst, Getting Together, Happy Ending, High School, Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, Lance (Voltron) is a Mess, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-17
Updated: 2018-10-07
Packaged: 2019-04-24 06:33:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14349912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheQueen/pseuds/TheQueen
Summary: Thirty minutes after the plane touches the tarmac, Lance has half a mind to pack his bags and sneak his way cross country from North Carolina back to the Garrison.ORLance and Keith visit family, discover feelings, and grow up just a little bit. It goes about as well as expected.A sequel to Down the Rabbit Hole





	1. Wednesday, November 21st

**Author's Note:**

> This story makes little sense unless you've read the first. This picks up just hours after the DTRH ended.

_"Who are you?" said the Caterpillar._

Thirty minutes after the plane touches the tarmac, Lance has half a mind to pack his bags and sneak his way cross country from North Carolina back to Nevada. Keith, at least, seems excitable, bordering on his own quiet manic, based on the wideness of his eyes and the way his foot keeps rattling.

“So,” his mother says from the driver seat. Ray is in the front, playing  _ Shake It Up! _ on his phone, the familiar rattle of dice and jaunty music just barely audible over the sound of tire on pothole heavy roads. “How are you enjoying the Garrison, Keith? Lance said you were in the same class as him.”

It had been one of the only things Lance said about Keith during the few phone calls he’d taken to arrange this trip. His parents had asked surprisingly little about the friend he wanted to bring home without much warning. Sitting in the backseat of his mom’s prius with the air conditioning on just a little too high, he’s starting to worry. 

“It’s good,” Keith says, perfectly calm to anyone who couldn’t read him well (and after all these years Lance could read him very well). “The classes are interesting, especially the flight simulations.” 

His mother nods, her eyes never straying from the road as she takes the exit. “It’s good you all are getting practical experience. In my day, we were stuck running exercises in mock planes that had been gutted, none of the proper feel of weightlessness until my senior year. Running my first mission out to mars had been terrifying.”

Keith smiles, “I wonder if I’ve flown one of your missions? Most of the sims are based on flight data of real runs.” 

His mother laughs. The GPS says they’ll be home soon. He can already start to see the ocean beyond the tree line. The bridge that will take them to the sandbank they call home during the warmer months looms closer. “That’d certainly be something. I was excited when I got the letter saying Lance had been promoted to Fighter Pilot.”

Letter… because Lance hadn’t called home with the news like he normally would have. He catches Ray’s eyes in the rearview mirror and sinks lower in his seat. Keith shoots him a weak smile. 

He’d explained almost all of it to Keith during their self-imposed heart to hearts: the silent treatment he’d given his parents and siblings, the guilt of knowing he’d have to leave them behind again. Keith had been less than understanding, but still unjudging, which is far more generous than Lance is feeling  at the moment. 

Lance turns to the window and smiles softly at the familiar sight of colorful beach houses and wind beaten trees. He’d always felt more attached to his grandmother’s beach house on Kitty Hawk than the house he’d grown up in in Raleigh. Now, he wonders if he’d always been destined to be drawn to water: a fledgling crush when he first saw the Atlantic near Kitty Hawk morphing into a lifelong love the first time he’d walked from his Great Auntie’s house to Varadero Beach. No ocean, for all the waters he’d seen on all the planets, could be as beautiful as the Atlantic. 

Keith taps him on the shoulder lightly once they’ve reached the familiar brick and wood with a somewhat sheepish smile. It takes a moment for Lance to realize he’d fallen asleep, his mother and brother having already exited the car and carrying their luggage into the house. 

“Sorry about that,” Lance yawns. “Not too awkward.”

“They’re nice,” Keith says, and then frowns and corrects himself. “Your mom seems happy to play nice.”

“Ray ignored you?” Lance asks, letting Keith drag him out of the car. “Sorry. It’s my fault.”

Keith shrugs and gestures to the house, where his mom has left the door open rather pointedly. “Too late to back out now.”

“I’m sure between the two of us we could hotwire a car,” Lance jokes.

Keith rolls his eyes, “Lance.”

Lance sighs, steels himself, and walks inside the house.

.

Keith had dreamed about meeting Lance’s parents, one of his many “once the war is over” bucket list items. He’d dreamed of warm welcomes and an ocean as blue as Lance’s eyes. He’d dreamed of a large bustling family with all the aunts and uncles and cousins Lance had warned them about. 

The ocean is definitely here. He longs to grab Lance and run down the length of the road to the beach, longs to see what Lance looks like by the water, longs to see the place where Lance grew up. It’s surreal. Seeing this home and the dainty cushions and the delicate nicknacks scattered along the window edges and tables. The TV in the living room is playing a rerun of Brooklyn Nine Nine on mute. 

Most of the family isn’t here, this time. Selma says, “they’ll be here Thanksgiving day,” (the ones that can come, since most of the family seems to be scattered all around the globe, from Cuba to Portugal to Japan, and Keith is quickly realizing that Lance’s definition of family is less about blood and more about time). For now, it’s just him and Lance and Selma in the kitchen. Ray, Lance’s older brother, is upstair. Sarah, Lance’s younger sister, is asleep on the sofa. The windows are all flung open to let in the sounds of the ocean and the soothing breeze, though the darker clouds hint at rain, tonight. It’s peaceful, not as loud or chaotic as Lance had always implied, but maybe Keith has to just give it time, wait for the extended family to appear.

“Don’t worry about knowing everyone’s names.” Selma says handing him a knife and a carrot. “I’m sure you’ll learn them in time, and honestly,” she jokes. “I’m not sure Lance remembers all of his cousins.”

Lance shrugs sheepishly as he peels potatoes for tomorrow, unwilling or perhaps unable to defend himself. 

“I’m surprised your parents let you come,” Selma continues. “Did you not celebrate Thanksgiving often as a child?”

Keith hisses when he nicks the edge of finger with the knife, sticking it in his mouth to soothe the sting. 

“Ah…” he mumbles when the question sinks in, and he turns to Lance with wide eyes before looking back at Selma. “Um… I’m actually a dependant of the Garrison’s.” 

“Oh!” Selma says, smile straining. And he sighs,  _ here comes the pity. _

“It was that or the state,” Keith continues. Hopefully, if he talks enough, she’ll drop the subject. His home life had never been a fun topic for anyone. “And I always wanted to fly.”

“Your grandmother hated the idea of me flying, you know,” Selma says after a moment of silence. “She wanted me to go into law.” 

“But you forged her signature,” Lance smiles. Clearly, this is a well loved story. 

“Oh, she yelled,” she tells Keith, laughing. “She told me if I wanted to go throwing myself into the air I could do it on a trampoline. We argued for weeks until the day I left for the Garrison. And she wasn’t very pleased when Lance decided to follow in my footsteps, either.” Selma smiles, smug. “When I told her Lance had been placed in the accelerated program, only then she’d admitted maybe flying wasn’t all that bad.”

“Is she coming tomorrow?” Lance asks, a thoughtful expression on his face. 

“If her feet will allow it,” Selma says, setting the potatoes in the pot of boiling water. “Your uncle is doing the turkey, of course. So I imagine she’ll come just for that.”

“Your uncle… the caterer,” Keith guesses, sorting through his memories of late night talks sharing story after story of their time on Earth. 

Selma seems pleased, nudging Lance gently with her shoulder. “Well, I’ll be heading up for a shower. Lance,” she points one long, perfectly manicured finger, “don’t do anything I wouldn’t, okay? Your father will be home in an hour.” 

With a wink in Keith’s direction, she is gone.

For a moment, Lance and Keith stand in the kitchen in silence, before Keith can’t help himself, bursting into laughter. 

Lance rolls his eyes, snickering quietly. “So… my mom.” He gestures weakly to where she had been standing.

“She’s great,” Keith promises. “I’m excited to meet everyone. I mean… I’ve heard so much.” 

Lance shrugs and turns to look out the window. Keith frowns, waiting in silence before Lance finally says, “She’s usually not this…”

“This?” Keith prompts, walking over to stand next to Lance. 

“Careful,” Lance decides finally, turning away to stir the potatoes in the pot. 

.

At some point Keith is channel surfing on the sofa when Sarah wakes up with a start, flinging herself up into a sitting position that has Keith jumping from the surprise.

“Time!” she calls loudly as she rubs the sleep from her eyes and pats the coffee table in front of her for her phone. 

Keith, taking mercy, grabs his own and reads, “Five thirty seven.”

She grunts and finally finds her phone, pressing it on as if to double check before looking at him through squinted eyes. “You’re not Ray.”

“Hi,” Keith rubs the back of his neck and desperately wishes Lance were awake instead of fast asleep on the other sofa, drooling slightly. “Uh… I’m Keith.”

Sarah continues to squint at him before something connects and she grins, suddenly wide awake and far too close. “You’re Keith!” she says like that’s supposed to mean something. “You’re Lance’s…  _ friend _ .”

“Um… uh yeah,” Keith fumbles before clearing his throat awkwardly. “I’m Lance’s friend. I’m visiting pretty last minute.”

Sarah sits back and grins. “You know all about Lance’s time in the Garrison right?”

Keith nods. He doesn’t quite understand why Lance had chosen to cut off his family as if they could just forget about him, as if that would make their eventual leaving easier to stomach. Personally, Keith had only seen it as Lance losing time. Time he could have spent making memories. Keith would give anything to be properly close to Shiro again, and Lance was wasting it. 

Hopefully, this trip would make him realize it.

“Can you… well,” Sarah fidgets and then nods her head in Lance’s direction pointedly. “Can you tell me anything? How he’s been? We got a lot of notes saying he was in the hospital, you know….”

Keith looks at Lance, slumbering peacefully, before looking back at Sarah. It’s easy to see the family resemblance. The same pointed chin. The same nose. The same warm brown eyes. Ray takes after his mother. Sarah and Lance must take after their father. 

“He’s been okay. It’s actually been kind of crazy.”  _ I got shot for one thing,  _ Keith thinks.  _ Lance lost it in a simulation. We’re spying on the government. _ What he says is, “he’s been homesick.”

Sarah pouts, crossing her arms. “So then why doesn’t he call us?”

“I can’t tell you that,” Keith shrugs helplessly. “You’ll have to ask him.”

.

When Lance’s father comes, carrying brown paper bags full of pies and a backpack, it’s as if the house comes alive. Selma, who had made herself scarce until that moment, comes bounding down the stair with all the restraint of a bulldozer, nearly running into Ray in her excitement to greet her husband.

Keith politely looks away until said greeting is over while Lance, Ray, and Sarah gag exaggeratedly at his side. 

Lance’s father then greets his children one by one, pulling them in for a hug and a hair ruffle. Ray pretends to squirm, his ears red as he glances at Keith from the corner of his eye, before giving in and letting his father hug him like the world is ending. Sarah is all for it, throwing her arms around her father and practically vibrating. Lance stands stiff at Keith’s side until his father wraps his arms around him and Lance all put melts into his father’s embrace. Lance is the tallest and the youngest of his siblings, coming up to his father’s nose, and for now he buries his face in his father’s shoulder and grips tight.

When Lance’s father stops in front of him, Keith is shocked. He stares up at the man, flustered, and holds out his hand for a greeting. He wants a good impression; after all, this is Lance’s father. Instead, Lance’s father leans over and pulls Keith into a bone crushing hug that Keith hesitates to reciprocate until he does.

It’s warm.

“Call me Charlie,” Lance’s fa-- Charlie says, pulling back a bit, but keeping his hands on Keith’s shoulders. He smiles Lance’s smile, big and wide and goofy. “It’s good to finally meet you.”

Keith’s cheeks are burning. “It’s good to meet you too, sir-errr Charlie.” 

Charlie laughs and ruffles his hair like he’d done with all his children. “Welcome to the family, Keith. I hope my boy hasn’t given you too much trouble.”

Keith laughs as Lance cries, “Dad!” 

“Nothing I can’t handle,” Keith promises.

“Good, good! I would expect nothing less.” Then, strangely, he winks.

Dinner is just as lively as Charlie’s arrival. The structured chaos of getting the food and plates and hungry bodies on the table (takeout Charlie had brought from Lance’s favorite chinese restaurant near their home) is fascinating to watch because Keith can tell this is practiced, something this family has done time and time again. Keith had participated in a few of these chaotic routines when he was younger. First with his grandfather, and then with the uncle who’d taken him in while his grandfather had been dying of prostate cancer, and then later with the one foster family  (one of many) he remembered fondly. The Garrison had more structure than chaos, and most of his foster homes had more chaos than structure.

So… it was nice to see it here.

By the time they all get on the table, the clock is reading 9:06, and Ray is yawning between bites of chicken, while Selma and Charlie discuss their day, the kids pipping in every now and again. Oddly enough, no one asks Lance or Keith about the Garrison or the last few months of Lance’s radio silence. Instead, they focus on fond memories and ridiculous stories that leave Lance mortified and Keith howling into his hot and sour.  

But at some point towards the end of the meal, Keith notices how Charlie and Selma seem to wind down, and Ray grows more tired and more sullen, and Sarah stops pretending not to look at her brother. He notices how Lance has chosen the seat closest to him, and the farthest from his mom, and he notices how Charlie’s smile seem just a little too wide.

He notices, but he’s too happy to say anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HERE IT IS! The sequel to Down the Rabbit Hole! This one will be much shorter, clocking in at 4-5 chapters instead of 30 and will focus on Thanksgiving break. Thank you everyone who has come back to this series and everyone who's decided to give this series a try.
> 
> Honestly, Chasing the Rabbit Hole is my brain baby. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I enjoy writing it.
> 
> And as always, please let me know what you think in the comments!


	2. Thursday, November 22nd

In the eye of the hurricane is quiet  
For just a moment. A Yellow Sky.   
\- _Hamilton The Musical_

 

This is the quiet before the storm.

.

The next morning Keith wakes to a house in motion. At some point between when he’d gone to bed and when he’d woken up, a whole gaggle of adults and children had arrived in friendly looking sedans and minivans carrying enough food to feed an army.

(But then again, looking at the collection of people in Lance’s living room, an army might not be far off.)

“Hi, I’m Silvia,” the girl peeling carrots and ginger says . Her thick afro is pulled away from her face in a vibrant pink hello kitty bandana and when she holds out to shake hands, Keith notices the collection of similar hello kitty bandaids on her fingers. “I’m guessing you’re new, too.”

Keith smiles, relaxing a bit. Lance has yet to show up and when he’d come downstairs Selma had just enough time to hand him a bowl of oatmeal before being whisked outside where one of Lance’s uncles is setting up the deep fryer. “Yeah. Is it your first time joining everyone for thanksgiving?”

“I come from a family of three,” Silvia grins handing him a carrot and a knife, “So this is way above my head. Selma told me to peel the carrots so here I am trying to keep out of the way.”

“I’ve never been big on thanksgiving,” Keith admits, not quite sure how much he wants to tell her. She seems nice, but some things aren’t first conversation material. From here he can see some of the uncles and cousins crowded around the TV, probably discussing football.

“So who are you with?” Silvia asks. “I’m Tony’s girlfriend from college.”

“Lance’s friend from the Garrison,” Keith grins. “Nice to know I’m not the only one knew to the clan.”

Silvia sets the peeled carrots in the bowl for Keith to chop into thin slivers for the salad. “The first time I met everyone was for July 4th. That’s when everybody shows up. Be happy you’ve only got half the cousins willing to come down for Thanksgiving.”

Keith looks around at the chaos—little kids running up and down, uncles and aunts and family friends, teens and elderly draped over every sit-able surface—and marvels at the idea of the size of Lance’s extended family. “I’m going to be honest, this is all just overwhelming.”

“I’d say you’ll get used to it, but I’m not used to it yet,” Silvia laughs, loud and bright like Lance would or Charles. He can see how she could fit in here, with this family… with his idea of what this family is like. He, on the other hand… Keith hoped he would be able to fit in.

“Bullying the new kid,” pipped a new voice and Keith looks up to see a tall military-looking man lean over to kiss Silvia on the cheek. His buzz cut so sharp it made him look almost-bald.

Silvia rolls her eyes and playfully points the knife at the man, “I’m always nice.” She grins and turns to Keith, “Keith, this is my boyfriend, Tony. Tony, this is Lance’s Keith.” There is an emphasis when she says it, Lance’s Keith, and Keith flushes.

Tony nods knowingly (and at least one of them knew what she means). “It’s nice to finally meet you, Keith,” Tony grins holding out his hand.

Keith sets down his carrot to give the hand a shake and does his best to match the strength of the handshake. When he’s done, Tony leans over and ruffles his hair, “I see the Garrison has yet to implement military uniform.”

Keith bats his hand away and tries to smooth out his fringe, trying to ignore the warmth in his cheeks and in his chest. “Thank god or I might have to quit.”

Tony laughs the same laugh that Lance and Charles and Silvia laugh. “I was shocked when Lance mentioned a military career. Even if it’s space travel, he’s never been one to follow the rules.”

Keith snorts, remembering the last time Lance had followed one of Allura’s rules to a tee (the answer being never). “It’s something we have in common.”

“Ray was telling me how surprised everyone was when they learned you were coming,” Tony adds. “I’m glad you’re here. Everyone heard how rough…”

“Tony,” Silvia huffs and Tony falls silent, shrugging sheepishly.

“We’re just glad he’s doing okay,” Silvia says after a moment.

Keith nods. “I’m glad he’s doing better too,” Keith offers like an olive branch. He wish he could tell these people why. He knows Lance wishes he could tell the truth too. But this was the reality of their situation. How could they admit to time travel? To magic and aliens and intergalactic 10,000 year old wars?

He doesn’t agree, but he understands why Lance tried to push them away.

“Speaking of Lance,” Keith prompts setting the knife down as one of the aunts walks over to take the carrots to the sink. “I haven’t seen him yet.”

“He’s outside with the other cousins trying to get Uncle Joey’s deep frying contraption set up,” Tony grins, looping an arm around Silvia’s waist. She leans into the hold. “Ten bucks says they make something explode and we’re all eating chinese take out tonight instead of turkey,” Tony mock whispers.

“You hush your mouth!” The aunt at the sink calls. “We don’t need your pessimism.”

“Love you, Auntie Matilda,” Tony grins.

“If your husband doesn’t give us food poisoning with that vat of oil of his,” Another aunt pipes up, “we’ll call it a miracle and skip Christmas.”

“You just want to go to The Bahamas for Christmas, Jen,” someone else calls.

“A cruise?” One of the kids—the single blond in the sea of brunettes and redheads—cries from the living room.

“No way anyone would let the lot of us on a boat,” Tony cries back, laughing. Keith can’t fight the smile on his face, doesn’t even try, as he watches the banter. “We’d sink the god damn thing with our stomping and look where’d that get us.”

“The McClains and Esponsais safely at the bottom of the ocean,” Aunt Matilda jokes, launching another round of ribbing and laughter.

In the chaos, Keith makes his escape to the backyard.

.

_“You can’t ignore us forever.”_

Lance sighs, picking up the last gallon of oil from his Tío Tony’s pickup truck. 

“Got the world on your shoulders, my boy?” Tío Tony asks, clapping him soundly on the shoulder.

Lance shrugs and tries to push down the flash of homesickness. There is something inexplicably Coran in the twirl of his uncle’s mustache. “Woke up wrong,” Lance smiles weakly.

“Lance…” his uncle sighs. He struggles for a moment to find the words and Lance waits. He remembers his uncle. He remembers their closeness. His dad’s favorite brother had been a stable force in Lance’s life for as long as he could remember. And for his Tío Tony, that past was only a few months ago. For Lance, it had been years since he’d seen this man.

He fights back the prickle of tears in his eyes and blinks furiously.

“You know we love you, don’t you?” Tío Tony says finally, placing to large warm hands on Lance’s shoulders. He’s still shorter than his uncle. He remembers sprouting up past Shiro after two years in space, much to Keith and Pidge’s displeasure. Maybe this time around he’ll live long enough to show his uncle in six years.

Lance nods, unable to meet his tío's eyes.

“When… when you’re ready to tell us,” his tío squeezes his shoulders before pulling him in for a hug. Lance freezes for a moment before melting, burying his face into his tío's chest. “we’ll still love you, Lance.”

Lance nods again, blinking back tears. “I-I love you guys, too,” Lance chokes out. And if his voice sounds a little wet, his tío is kind enough not to mention it.

.

At some point Keith finds him.

He looks good, well rested and flushed. When he finds Lance amongst the grass and cousins, he beams and pushes forward through the sea of family.

“Too much?” Lance teases as he catches Keith’s hand in his.  

“It’s what I was expecting,” Keith teases right back, squeezing his hand before letting go. Next to him, Andrea giggles. When he looks over, she’s whispering to Christie.

“Really?” Lance smiles and leads Keith away to one of the quieter corners of the backyard. “Because if it’s too much…”

“I like your family,” Keith promises. “Are… are you okay?”

Lance starts to nod before freezing. He’d promised Keith honesty. He owed Keith every bit of honesty he could give him. “I don’t know….”

He closes his eyes and remembers Sarah’s pained face illuminated in only the pale light of the bathroom. “You can’t ignore us forever,” she’d said, voice thick with emotion. And when had she grown up? He doesn’t remember her being so old. “We’re here. Let us in, Lance.”

“I love them,” Lance promises as much to himself as it is to Keith. “But I don’t know how to talk to them.”

Keith doesn’t say anything for a moment, just looks. First at Lance and then out into the backyard. “Okay,” he says, turning back to Lance with fire in his eyes. “Then I will.”

“Keith?”

“Let me be your buffer,” Keith presses. “We’re a team, Lance.”

Lance closes his eyes. “I shouldn’t need a team to handle my family.”

“Sometimes there’s nothing harder than family,” Keith whispers.

Lance sucks in a deep breath.

“Let me be here for you.”

Lance slowly opens his eyes and breaths out. “Okay…”

Keith’s smile is humbling.

“Thank you,” Lance whispers, leaning closer.

“Of course.”

.

Keith, good to his word, never leaves his side.

It does get better with Keith’s warmth and presence when the conversation and the memories become too much. At a few points, Keith goes so far as to drag him away when it becomes too much. He never speaks during these moments, never asks questions. He waits, sitting next to Lance, in silence like sentry guarding its charge.

It’s mortifying.

(Lance has never been so grateful.)

Every now and then Lance catches whispers, notices stray looks that linger too long on him or Keith or both of them. At one point he catches his Aunt Jen shaking her head sadly before his mother steps in, looking outraged.

He wants to know why. He’s afraid to ask. He’s nervous. It feels like he’s looking at his family through a film. The characters perfect. The atmosphere pleasant. But if he were to peel back a layer…

He doesn’t think he’ll like what he finds. He doesn’t think he can handle it.

Ray hasn’t spoken to him once since he’s come home.

He seems him every now and then, talking to their cousins or helping his mom and dad in the kitchen, or hanging out with their uncles in the living room while the game plays. Ray looks happy, busy. He even hears Ray’s laugh every now and then.

Out of all his siblings he was always closest to Ray. Ray was his big brother, his idol. Ray was everything he’d thought cool was. Sometimes when he’d turn to Shiro for advice or for comfort, all he’d seen were how similar Ray and Shiro were, how well they’d have gotten along if given the chance.

(Maybe one day… They’re close to Shiro now. After the Incident and the bullet, they’d have to be. He hasn’t asked Keith how he feels about that. They haven’t had the time between reconnecting and Lance’s stress. He makes a note to fix that. It’s not fair. After all, Shiro was Keith’s brother too.)

“Who is it?” Keith asks as Lance pulls his phone out of his pocket.

“Aaron,” Lance says as his phone flashes the ID and the ringing gets louder. “I’m gonna take this...” he asks more than says.

Keith waves him off.

“Hey!” Lance picks up as he finds a quiet corner by the bathroom.

_“Hey! How’s it going?”_

“Crazy,” Lance admits with a laugh, leaning comfortably against the wall. “I’d forgotten how big my family is.”

 _“I totally get that.”_ Behind Aaron there is a crash and a woman calling for him. _“Coming Mama! Shivanni says hi by the way. Keith isn’t picking up.”_

“He probably has it on silent. I’ll let him know you called,” Lance grins.

_“Well I just wanted to say Happy Thanksgiving before the food coma sets in… Don’t be a stranger, okay? I’ve got some good news when you’ve got the time.”_

It’s not hard to fill in the blanks. “I’ll give you a call tonight,” Lance promises. “Me and Keith.”

“Perfect! Okay, I gotta go before my mom comes for me. Stay safe, McClain. See you at school.”

“I will. I’ll see you,” Lance says as the bathroom door opens. He shifts naturally away as Aaron says his final goodbyes. “Yeah… yeah. Bye!”

He’s closing his phone when a voice calls, “I see your phone works.”

Lance flinches and turns to see Ray standing in the bathroom door, sour look on his face. “Uh…”

Ray snorts and rolls his eyes. For a moment they both just stand there before Ray shakes his head and pushes past.

“Ray!” Lance cries, reaching out to grab his brother’s arm. “Look… I-I’m sorry.”

Ray is silent for a moment and than another. As if frozen in time as Lance grips his wrist desperately. “I don’t even think you understand why I’m so upset,” Ray says finally. “I just… Everyone says I should let it go. Everyone says you just need time, but…”

He rips his hands away and turns to look at Lance. “I love you, but I am so mad at you right now.”

Lance thinks it would have been kinder for Ray to have just hit him.

“Later,” Ray nods firmly. His eyes are cold when they meet Lance’s. “We’ll talk later.”

.

Dinner tastes like ash in his mouth later that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And she's back! Holy shit the last few months of school totally kicked my butt. But it is the summer and I am here, queer, and ready to write XD
> 
> As always please let me know what you think!!


	3. Friday, November 23rd

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance and Ray talk. There are feelings. Then there are more feelings.

The walk to the beach is silent.

The island is fast asleep, leaving only the the sound of the waves and light of the fireflies filtering in and out of sight. Their twinkling yellow lights guiding his way down the stone steps from the street to the small boardwalk Lance had spent most of his summers running up and down to the creaking wooden steps where Ray stood with his feet buried in the cool sand, waiting.

Lance had wasted time after dinner was done and the dishes put away. He’d stood by his bedroom door, debating whether or not to take Keith. Frustrated with himself that he needed Keith like a crutch to talk to the people he’d grown up with, but terrified of going alone and destroying one of the best relationships he remembered.

Then Keith asks, “Are you okay?” and Lance almost says, “Yes.”

It’s not a huge lie. Just a simple, “I’m fine” followed by a few evasive answers to a few invasive questions. But Lance can’t help the sinking feeling in his gut the minute the thought crosses his mind.

Hadn’t he learned his lesson? What did lying to Keith ever get him but heartache and confusion? Danger and pain?

(The last time he’d lied to Keith, Keith had almost died. You would think that would change things.)

So he tells Keith the truth because he has to. He tells Keith what Ray said, how he’s scared he won’t be able to talk to his brother, how he doesn’t understand why his brother seems so angry while his sister just seems sad. He tells Keith, “I want to be able to do this on my own.”

And Keith says, “Okay. I’ll be waiting here if you need me.” before pushing Lance out of the room and locking the door behind him.

Lance doesn’t know what he’s done to deserve Keith’s support. It’s more than he deserves, but he’s selfish enough to take it.

When Lance arrives, Ray seems to not take notice. For a moment, they stand in silence listening to waves they cannot see crash against the shore. Lance wiggles his toes into the sand and fiddles with the flip flops in his hands as he waits for Ray to say something.

Somewhere above them, a seagull caws.

“Do you remember the last time we were out here?” Ray asks.

Lance nods, slowly, though he doesn’t know if Ray sees it in the dim light of the stars.

“You’d been acting so weird. Quiet and sad.” Ray sighs and takes a seat on the sand. Lance hesitates for a moment before joining him, shivering slightly from the cool ocean breeze. “I thought you were worried about leaving. I assumed that you were worried about us and Mom and how she was trying to keep you from going after your freak out. But that wasn’t it was it?” Ray asks, turning to look at him. Lance can see his silhouette shift. The glint of starlight against his favorite chrome sunglasses. “There was something else wasn’t there?”

Lance bites his bottom lip and nods. He doubts lying will help him now.

Ray is silent for a moment and then says, “If I’d asked do you think things would be different now?”

“No,” Lance admits. Once he would have thought himself honest. But he knows that’s not true now. He knows... “I wouldn’t have wanted you to worry.”

“So you’d have lied?”

Lance looks out to the black bottomless ocean and can just barely make out the difference between water and horizon. “It’s a bad habit,” he jokes.

“Goddamnit, Lance,” Ray snaps. “I swear it feels like I barely know you. And I’m...”

 _You don’t,_ Lance thinks, pressing his lips closed. _You haven’t known me in years._

“I’m so angry!” Ray shouts, reaching out as if to grab Lance before refraining. Fingers curling closed. Lance can see the shine of his class ring on his left hand, the blue birthstone that no one ever remembered the name of. “Everyone says you just need time. They think they’ve got it all figured out, you know?”

“Figured out!” Lance echos, stunned.

Ray looks away. “Uh...”

“What do they have figured out?” Lance repeats, inching closer as he tried to figure out where this conversation had made a wrong turn. “Ray?”

From this close he can see his brother’s features clearer. Ray’s cheeks are flushed. “It’s not like you’ve been subtle.” Ray defends. “With Keith and all. But—“ he adds before Lance can get a word in. “I know it’s not just that. You wouldn’t cut us off because of that. Not after...”

“Ray?” Lance asks, a million questions on his tongue as he tries to figure out what they’re talking about. What did this have to do with Keith?

“I came out to you on this beach,” Ray says suddenly.

Lance blinks in surprise. “I remember....” He’d been so happy the day his brother had chosen to come out to him before anyone else. It had felt like their special little secret, proof that his brother trusted him. Proof that maybe he wasn’t… too different.

“So I know you wouldn’t cut us off because of Keith,” Ray says, pressing a finger against Lance’s chest. “I know you’re hiding something bigger than that. I know you’re hiding something else. And now I know you’ll never tell me.”

Lance flounders for a moment, mouth opening and closing as he tries to find the words. “How… how do they know?”

Ray sighs, “Mom. Well you know how mom can be when she sees a problem.”

“Is this a problem?” Lance asks.

“Of course not!” Ray rolls his eyes. “With the way everyone is bending over backwards to welcome Keith… Hell makes it easier for me to come out now that I know they’re all onboard. You notice how Tia Anna and Tio Joseph weren’t invited.”

“Dad always hated them,” Lance says feeling like the conversation is slipping away from him again like sand through his fingers. He grips the ground tigheter.

“They’re Evangelists now,” Ray says mournfully. “Mom wasn’t about to invite them when you were bringing your boyfriend over. Not after months of silence.”  

For a second Lance almost asks ‘ _what boyfriend_ ’ before the pieces start to fall into place. The conversation. His parents. The way his aunts had smiled at Keith when Keith had held his hand. The way his cousins had giggled when Keith had gotten up to get him his drink. “Oh…” he says. And then again because it hasn’t quite sunk in, “Oh!”

“She found your diary after the Hospital visit,” Ray says and Lance flinches at the reminder of the voicemails he never returned. “You used to write a lot apparently.”

Lance remembers that vaguely. A blue single subject notebook he’d kept in his desk drawer as a middle schooler. The details hazy after all this time. He’d used to write everything down until the day he’d befriended Hunk. After that he’d always had someone to talk to.

Now he supposes he has Keith.

“There is something else,” Lance says finally. The seagulls are cawing again. Something in the distance has disturbed them. “Yes, I wasn’t… I’m not ready to come out. Not properly. But there is something else. And you’re right I’m not going to tell you.”

He gets up because he doesn’t know what else he can say. The sand sticks to his jeans and he feels it fall as he turns around.

“Do you not trust us?” Ray asks.

Lance remembers that moment on the beach. The sun had been high in the sky and yet the beach empty. The tourists having packed up to flee the unseasonably hot sun. They’d been eating ice cream sandwiches as they watched the water when Ray had confessed to kissing the lifeguard, a new hire from Virginia. Adam… or Andrew. Something with an “a”....

“It’s not about trust,” Lance promises because that’s the truth. He’s not an honest person. He’s too selfish to be honest. He looks back at Ray to see Ray looking up at him from the bottom of the steps, “I’ll trust you with my life, Ray. This isn’t as simple as trust.”

“Are you in danger, Lance?” Ray asks. Behind him an ocean breeze picks up.

Lance walks away because he has to, because he doesn’t think he can keep from saying nothing.

He is a Paladin of Voltron after all. He’ll always be destined to leave them.

.

The bedroom door is unlocked when he arrives. He pulls on his pajamas, closes the curtains, slips into bed next to Keith and tries not to think.

“Did it go well?” Keith asks when Lance’s tossing wakes him. His voice thick with sleep.

“I’ll tell you in the morning,” Lance promises and tries to ignore the sound of the front door opening.

.

Tony wakes them up before nine by throwing their door open with a bang and screaming, “Black Friday!”

Somewhere someone is stomping as someone yells something in Spanish that Keith cannot understand.

“Capitalism is a sin,” a woman calls from the other end of the hall and it takes Keith a moment to place it:  Silvia, the girl with the hello kitty bandana.

Lance grunts from where he’s buried into Keith’s neck, long limbs thrown around him like an unfortunately cuddly octopus. Keith quickly realizes he has to pee.

“Get up!” Tony cries, charging into the room like a kid on Christmas morning. “I have a job and money and coupons to Macy’s! Up time, cousin!”

Lance grunts something in Spanish that Keith knows must be a curse word before chucking their pillow at Tony’s face. “I hate you,” he grumbles as he rolls off of Keith.

Keith wastes no time dodging the return throw before sprinting into the bathroom for some much needed quiet.

By the time he comes downstairs, three-fourths of the family seems to have disappeared as quickly and quietly as they had appeared yesterday morning. Now only Selma and Matilda, Lance’s aunt on his father’s side as Keith had learned yesterday, are manning the stoves as Charlie speaks with Uncle Tony in a low rumble by the TV. Reruns of yesterday’s game is flash across Good Morning America.

“Is my brother awake?” Sarah asks. She’s sitting at the kitchen table with a book thick enough to bludgeon a man. Her hair pulled up in two pony tails so she looks younger than Keith thinks she is.

“He should be down any minute,” Keith guesses because he’s sure Tony has managed to throw Lance into the shower by now. “Is there any breakfast?”

Forty minutes later and a bowl of cereal later, Keith finds himself sandwiched into the back of a mom-approved minivan with Silvia on his left and Lance on his right.

“Okay so game plan!” Silvia cheers as she throws an arm behind Keith’s head. She’s wearing a flower print bandana today and two face stickers on her cheek like beauty marks framed by tastefully placed body glitter. She smells like vanilla.

Tony had drawn the lucky straw and ended up in the uncramped prius with Charlie, Uncle Tony, and Matilda. Keith tries not to think sour thoughts as he’s forced to lean closer to Lance to avoid crushing Silvia as he fiddles with his seatbelt.

“I refuse to go to Old Navy,” Lance throws out before anyone can say anything. He’s smiling, a big goofy smile that suggests an inside joke Keith has yet to learn. He’s surprised to find he doesn’t mind the secrecy and the way the family sometimes slips into Spanish before remembering the monolingual in the car.

It’s good to see Lance this relaxed… this happy around his family.

He chews the bottom of his lip and wonders what he and Ray talked about last night as Selma turned onto the intersection that would lead them off the island and back into town.

.

Lance had never been so grateful for Aunt Matilda’s nosiness. His smile strains when his aunt throws a conspiratorial wink in his direction and drags the family away, leaving only him and Keith browsing through the American Eagle section of Macy’s.

Keith emerges from the selection of jeans he was browsing through and accepts his starbucks (a venti iced chai tea latte because despite all assumptions, Keith is not a fan of coffee) back from Lance. “Should we be following them?” Keith asks after a long sip.

“I think they’re trying to give us privacy,” Lance says, playing with the green straw in his own mostly-empty starbucks cup (peach citrus white tea because coffee would have made his hands shake more).

“Lucky us,” Keith jokes, turning away from the 50% off jeans to look at Lance. “Want to tell me what’s going on?”

He frames it like a question. Worse, Lance knows he’d accept a no.

“Ray told me a lot last night,” he starts, trying to gather his thoughts. “He’s onto us. Well… onto me. He knows something has been going on, but he doesn’t know what.”

Keith nods, frowning. “That’s… not great.”

“He also told me why my family hadn’t been badgering me…” Lance trails off for a moment and then restarts. “Remember how nervous I’d been coming over, how certain I was that they were going to ask every question and demand answers I couldn’t give.”

They’re moving now through the sea of red sale tags and pastel men’s shirts and away from the clearance isle where Lance’s family must be gathered.

“Yeah,” Keith says probably remembering the afternoon they’d tried to debate what to tell if asked. In the end, they hadn’t managed to agree on anything.

“Ray told me why they hadn’t asked,” Lance says and takes a deep breath. “They know I’m… bisexual.”

For a moment Keith doesn’t say anything and Lance can feel the sweat start to gather on the back of his neck. He realizes, surreally, Keith Kogane, Rival, Top of their Year, Red Paladin Keith Kogane,  is the first person he’d ever said it to.

He’d never even managed to tell Hunk.

Sure people had known. After three months in space, Lance’s eyes had strayed to all sorts of people whether female presenting or male or otherwise. (Gender is so hard to keep track of in space where some planets don’t even have gender.) But he’d never said it allowed before.

It feels nice.

“They think…” Keith trails off, biting at his straw. They’ve stopped walking now. Both of them staring blankly at a display of shorts. “How did they find out?”

“My mom found my middle school journal,” Lance smiles as the reality of their situation sinks in. He’d actually managed to say it.... “I forgot I even owned the damn thing.  Can you believe that?”

Keith is silent for a moment again and Lance wonders if he’s starting to get it when Keith says, “I’m so sorry, Lance.”

Lance blinks in surprise. “Sorry about what?”

“Well…,” Keith seems to struggle to find the words. “When I was outed I’d been so mad and betrayed. I’d told someone in confidence and they told only a few people. I can’t imagine your whole family...”

Lance shrugs and smiles sadly, “Honestly, I feel kind of relieved. It’s something they never knew Before. Now they do. I don’t know if I’d ever get the nerve to tell them this time around if I hadn’t last time. And they’ve been… accepting, haven’t they?”

“Have they?” Keith asks.

“Well that’s the other thing,” Lance takes a sip of water from the melted ice. “They think you’re my boyfriend.”

“Me?” Keith cries, voice to sharp and loud so it breaks the otherwise purgatory existence of the shopping center. The cashier across the hall glances at them sharply. “Me?” Keith repeats quietly.

“Good timing,” Lance jokes before turning to Keith properly. “Is it really so crazy? Months of silence and then I show up with a mystery man.”

Keith’s cheeks seem to turn a dusty red in the fluorescent lighting. “Well… that’s fair. I guess I can’t blame them for assuming… Are you okay with that?”

“We make a great couple,” Lance smiles without missing a beat, remembering what Keith had said yesterday. “We make a great team.”

“Everyone says we’re already married,” Keith jokes, smile returning. “We already fight like one.”

“And nag like one,” Lance points his cup towards Keith so the ice rattles against the plastic. “And you sleep in my bed.”

“You started it!” Keith cries as they start walking again. “I don’t remember inviting you over to my dorm room.”

“I’m not the one who uses me like a pillow.”

“Oh like you’re any better!” Keith rolls his eyes, thinking of this morning. Looking back on it… “Hell, if I didn’t know us I’d say we were a couple too.”

Lance reaches out before freezing, fingers brushing awkwardly together. “You’d be lucky to date me,” he teases as his voice waivers.

“Please! You’d be lucky to date me” Keith laughs.

For a moment, Lance can almost picture it. Taking Keith’s hand in his and pulling him close like they’d done hundreds… no millions of times before but this time not stopping. This time leaning forward and closing that distance, that line they’d drawn in the sand years ago when the war was new and Keith had left for the Blade before coming back stronger and yet more brittle than before.

They’d never talked about it. There had never been time.

He wonders if Keith is thinking about it too as they fall silent and still, standing in the middle of the Macy’s men’s department with his family only a few clothing racks away. He wonders…

“There you two are!” Sarah calls.

Lance fights to keep his smile in place when Keith turns away.

He feels relieved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the truth is out there! I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. I had some trouble writing this one honestly. Ray is a ton of fun to write but he got away from me for a little bit. Finally, I got a solid idea of how this chapter should play out and I ended up climbing out to bed to write this at 1am in the morning. it is now 4am so I'm off to bed. :D 
> 
> I just want to thank everyone for continuing to show this fic and this series so much love and support! You all fuel me to keep on writing. This is one of the longest series I've ever done and I couldn't have done it without all your feedback. I really appreciate every comment, kudo, and bookmark I get. Thank you all!
> 
> To think we're already at the halfway mark of this fic!
> 
> As always, please let me know what you think the comments below!


	4. Saturday, November 24th

They get home late after eating a large dinner at Longhorn. Their doggy bags full of leftovers, his father struggles to fit them in the fridge. His mother has already thrown herself onto the sofa, TV on and an old rerun of one of the Harry Potter movies playing. Ray gives him a solid pat on the shoulder before joining their mother on the sofa, the beginnings of a family movie night. Keith throws him a significant look before head upstairs.

They still have things to talk about after all. 

Lance is about to follow Keith up when Sarah grabs him by the sleeve. “Can we talk?” she asks. She’s so much shorter than Lance remembers her being. She hasn’t hit her growth spurt yet. In the next year she’d shoot up like a weed and come up to his shoulders, but for now he had to look down to meet her eyes.

“Sure,” he says and lets her lead him to the backyard.

“So you and Ray talked,” she starts.  

Lance nods and takes a seat on one of the plastic chairs they’d left outside. 

She sighs and takes a seat on the wet grass, “So… I figure it’s our turn isn’t it?”

“I suppose so…” Lance fidgets quietly, picking at a thread along his cuff. 

There is a moment of overwhelming silence, broken only be the ambient noises of the island and the distant crashing of waves. He bites his lip, fighting for something to say, when she speaks, “I don’t understand why you pushed us away.”

“I’m sorry,” Lance says because he is. In the night light she looks older than her twelve years, face thrown into harsh shadows and eyes narrowed in distrust. 

“Mom and dad think they have it all figured out,” Sarah sighs, picking the lint off her skirt. “Ray is angry.”

“I know,” Lance whispers. 

“What did we do wrong?” she asks, curling in on herself. He can hear the unspoken question:  _ what did I do wrong? _

“Nothing,” he reassures, reaching out to take her hand in his. She hesitates for a moment before letting him take her hand. “I was just… going through some things. Figuring myself out.”

He thinks about all he’s done these last few months and shivers. 

She watches him. “Why couldn’t we have helped you?”

He wants to say something reassuring, something that would make her feel better. But lying isn’t the answer. Instead he says, “Because in my head I was better off trying to do things myself.”

“Did it work?” she asks.

He snorts, bitter. “No,” he squeezes her hand tight. “I made a mistake. I learned my lesson.”

“You won’t do it again, will you?” she whispers, squeezing back. 

He shakes his head no and thinks about how much his disappearance is going to hurt her. “I promise I won’t do it again.”

.

By the time they go back inside, everyone has gone to bed. 

Lance walks into his room to find Keith already dressed for bed, lounging casually with his tablet propped up on his knees.

“What did Sarah want?” Keith asks as he closes the door. The moon has returned, a faint sliver of light in the sky. Lance closes the curtains and turns on his desk lamp to change.

“She was upset. I apologized,” Lance says. 

Keith nods after a moment, turning back to his tablet.“So what do we do about Ray?” 

“I don’t know,” Lance sighs, grabbing a sleeping shirt and boxers before getting into the bed. He’s too tired to bath. He’ll do it in the morning.

“What if we tell him the truth?” Keith asks. 

“The truth?” Lance repeats dumbly, pulling the blanket up to cover his shoulder and curls into Keith’s side. He feels so warm after sitting outside.

“Would it really hurt at this point?” Keith points as he grabs the remove and turns on the fan. 

“I don’t know…” Lance admits as Keith curls up next to him. “I really don’t know…”

.

The next morning, Lance walks down stairs ready for war. Keith walks behind him. 

“They already accept you,” Keith reminds him.

Lance nods and reaches out to squeeze Keith’s hand for comfort, “I know, but…” It was different saying it out loud. He just hoped….

He took a deep breath and walked into the kitchen where his family sat eating breakfast. “I’m bi.”

It’s instantaneous. His mother squeals, clapping her hands together. His father beams, a tension missing that Lance hadn’t realized was there until it was gone. Ray snorts, rolling his eyes. But Lance watches the way he watches his parent’s reactions and smiles, knowing what this means to his brother. 

His sister says, “I’m proud of you.”

“Thank you for telling us,” his mother says, getting up to give him a hug. He hugs back just as strong, burying himself in his mother’s warmth. 

When she lets go his father takes her place. “I love you so much,” his father promises. “We all do.”

Ray throws him a thumbs up before letting his mother drag him over. Lance throws his arms around both Ray and Sarah and snickers, beaming. “I love you guys, too.”

“Too many emotions this early,” Ray grumbles, ruffling Lance’s hair. 

In the background, Keith fidgets, watching and trying not to cry. He always knew he’d love the McClain family. 

“Get in here Keith,” his mother laughs, grabbing him by the hand and giving him a firm hug. 

“Well…” Lance pips up and Keith braces himself. 

“We know,” Charlie encourages, placing a large hand on his son’s shoulder. “You and Keith…”

“We’re not together,” Lance admits, cutting his dad off. Keith keeps quiet, biting his tongue. He thinks about yesterday and all the times before. He thinks about the line Lance drew in the sand back in the beginning of the war and the way their friends tease them like Keith doesn’t know. His heart hurts… 

“Keith is just a really good friend,” Lance adds. 

“A good friend?”  Selma repeats, still standing with an arm thrown around Keith’s shoulders in a lose hug.

Ray looks at Keith with an unreadable expression. Keith looks away. 

“He helped me find the courage to talk to you all,” Lance says because it’s true. Even if they’re not together, he still wants his family to understand how important Keith is to him. Because… because Keith is so important. “I asked him to come for moral support and then Ray told me…” he trails off.

His mother doesn’t say anything for a moment before her hold on Keith tightens, “Well in that case, Keith, thank you for bringing my son home to me.”

Keith squawks an eruption of broken noises as Charlie nods. “We were so worried about him. We’re glad he had you looking out for him.”

“I just… I didn’t,” Keith cries, slapping his hands over his cheeks like he can pretend he wasn’t about to explode. He turns to Lance for help and sees him smiling the same crooked smile he inherited from his father. He takes a deep breath. It’s been a while since he’d seen Lance smile so… so genuinely. “I-.”

“He’s my best friend,” Lance says, smile growing. Keith feels his heart speed up. “I wouldn’t be here without him, honestly.”

.

At some point night rolls around. 

They didn’t do much that day. Instead choosing to lounge around the house, enjoyed each other’s company. Keith, whose holiday experiences had always felt bittersweet in the past, finds it to easy to fall into the rhythm. He helps Selma pack off most of the leftovers for Ray and Lance to take back with them. He watches the sports highlights with Charlie and Lance, curled up under the afghan with Lance’s hand in his. At some point he even finds himself reading quietly with Ray, exhausted but pleasantly warm. 

“My brother is an idiot,” Ray says at one point. 

Keith looks at him from over the top of his book before nodding slowly. It’s a fair assessment though he isn’t sure what prompted it. 

Now Charlie and Selma argue over the best way to position the fireworks as Lance hands him a soda from the cooler. 

“Aren’t you glad we didn’t run back to the Garrison?” Keith teases as Lance takes a seat on the picnic blanket. 

“Maybe,” Lance says just for the sake of arguing, just because he can. Ray throws a fist full of sand at him as Sarah lies down with her head in Lance’s lap. “Maybe not.”

Keith laughs. In the distance, Selma cheers victorious. Lance’s hand feels warm in his. As the first firework launches, Keith tilts his head back and smiles. “You know… I wouldn’t mind spending every thanksgiving like this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter four of five done! We just have a few more lose ends to tie up and then we're off to the Garrison.
> 
> Sorry about the delay everyone. I really wanted to finish this story before the summer ended, but I also ended up needing to take a break from the vld fandom. I'm not really back in the fandom right now, but I love this story and this series. I really want to finish it so here I am! As long as you all are interested in reading this I am happy to write it. :D 
> 
> So please let me know what you think in the comments below! Are you excited to get back to the Garrison?


	5. Sunday, November 25th

The next morning is as somber as it is hectic.

Uncle Tony, Aunt Matilda, Tony and Silvia come over one last time for breakfast. Silvia and Tony spend the majority of it apologizing to Keith for assuming he was dating Lance.

“You could do better anyway,” Tony had taunted as Silvia laughs. Lance mimes throwing his cereal at Tony’s face and only ceases when Selma tells him to sit down.

“But still,” Silvia grins after breakfast as they watch Uncle Tony and Charlie fit their bags in Selma’s prius, “I assume I’ll be seeing you around?”

“If they’ll have me,” Keith grins, accepting Silvia’s phone and typing his number in.

“Then I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around,” Silvia laughs, thumping him hard on the back. “And who knows what’ll be different next time we meet.”

She winks and Keith finds himself blushing without really knowing why.

.

Lance hugs his mother a little too long as his father and Charlie struggle to fit their bags in the car.

“You’ll call right?” she asks, tears gathering in the corner of her eyes. He nods and presses his face into her shoulder. He doesn’t want to let go.

He had been so ready to leave, the fear of abandoning his family tricking him into abandoning them early. Now the Garrison looms on the horizon like a dark cloud. It’s secrets and dangerous wrapping back claws around his shoulders. The worries he’d been able to ignore and only briefly remembered of while talking to Aaron (who he’d forgotten to call back and who had yet to text a reminder, oddly enough), rearing their ugly head.

He glances sharply at Keith as he laughs with Silvia and bites his lip. “I love you, Mama.”

“I love you to, mi amor,” She whispers, finally letting him go. “And you’ll call?”

“Every weekend,” Lance promises. And he will. He’s learning not to make the same mistake twice.

His father calls him over and he turns to see the bags have finally managed to fit. Sarah is standing by the passenger side door, ready to go. His father walks over and gives him a hug.

“I love you,” he says, pulling Lance in for a huge tight enough to squeeze his ribs.

Lance gasps as he wraps his arms around his father, “I love you too.”

“You two take care of each other,” his father says. “And do right by that boy, okay? He’s been good for you.”

“I will,” Lance promises. “I- I really love you guys, you know.”

“We’ll see you for Christmas,” his mother reminds him. “It’s only a month away, okay? Maybe we’ll fly down to see your grandmother.”

Varadero. The beach. The waves and his grandmother. His heart skips a beat as he grins. “I’d love that.”

“We’ll see what we can do,” his father laughs. “Now go make your rounds. We don’t want to be late for your flight.”

Lance goes to Ray last.

He’d been thinking about what Keith had said, the out he’d given him. Tell the truth… Tell him everything? Lance doesn’t think he could fit the truth in five minutes or fifty minutes. He thinks he’d need days and weeks and proof to convince Ray of anything. So for now he gives Ray what he can. He gives him a warning.

“You’re right,” Lance whispers as he leans in for a hug. Ray tenses in his arms.  “If I disappear, I’m not dead.”

“Lance!” Ray cries.

Lance shushes him, shaking his head. He leans back and looks his brother in his eye. “I can’t… I can’t tell you too much right now. I will when I can. But I promise, okay? If I go missing, I’m not dead.”

“You’re in danger,” Ray whispers. He looks to Keith and then back to Lance. “Does he…”

Lance nods solemnly.

“Fuck,” Ray hisses, gripping Lance’s shirt tight. “Fucking shit, Lance.”

“Lance!” their mother cries. “It’s time to go.”

“I love you,” Lance whispers, prying Ray’s fingers lose. “I love all of you.”

“If you get yourself killed, I’ll kill you myself. I swear to god, Lance,” Ray snarls, eyes wet. “Do you have to…”

“I do,” Lance promises. Behind him their mother grows impatient. Keith is already sitting in the car. “I’m not the only one in danger. I’ll tell you more when I can.”

“You better,” Ray nods, not satisfied but solemn. “Stay safe?”

“I’ll try,” Lance says. It’s the best he can give him. He’ll do his best.

It takes another minute before Ray can let him get in the car.

“So?” Keith asks as he get in.

Lance nods, fingers curled into the lose fabric of his shorts.

Keith sighs, taking one of his hands in his. “Now what?” he whispers. In the front Sarah and his mother struggle to find a clean radio station.

“Now back to the Garrison,” Lance tries to smile. “Vacation over.”

“Vacation over,” Keith agrees.

 

  _Alice replied, rather shyly,_ _'_ _I — I hardly know, sir, just at present — at least I know who I WAS when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then.'_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WE MADE IT!!! 2 of 3 stories now complete. God I love Ray. I did not expect to love Ray as much as I do, but I do. 
> 
> Please let me know your thoughts in the comments below. I'll be posting an announcement when the next story in the series is posted so get HYPED! XD


	6. Annoucement!!!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Third installment of the Chasing a Rabbit series, A Mad Tea Party, is now up!

The Third installment of the Chasing a Rabbit series

# A Mad Tea Party

is now up!

 

 

See you all there!

**Author's Note:**

> PS: I forgot to add a lil image at the end of the last chapter so if you get a chance go back and check it out :D I think it wraps up the feel of this story nicely.


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